The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1887-06-30
NO DANGER OF AN OUTBREAK.
THE REPORTED NEGRO INSIJI,REC-
TION IN LAURENS COUNTY.

thority ior tho bire threats Said to RaVe
Been Made--"Principles" of tho eco
Operative Workers OF AmerIcn."
(From the News and Courier)
LAURENs, June 20.-Colonel J. n.
Traynham, of tho Governors staff, and
Captain l.. e. Irby, of tho Laurens
Guards, have returned from Cedar
Grove, Young's township. Colonel
Traynham refuses to be interviewed, but
he will proceed to Columbia and report
directly to Governor Richardson to-
morrow. Captain Irby, however, is un-
der no obligation to report officially, and
has very kindly furnished mo such in .
formation as he had.
There is no doubt that some of the
negroes are organized, and that thew
often hold meetings between midnipht
and daylight with the greatest prccau-
tlons at secrecy, sentinels being station
ed at convenient distances from the
rendezvous. The various dire threats
that nave been so widely circulated can
not be traced authoritatively to the Or
ganization. There will be no outbreak
unless the negro leaders shall act rasbIy
as the whites preserve great caution.
neglected to say that the meetings are
held near the lines of Laurens md
Greenvllle counties, on the Grcenyillo
side,
The organizations arc known IS tbc
'Co-operatlvo Workers of America, "
and are the offspring of the Hoover in
tluence, and many believe they arc for
the purpose of eXtorting money from the
ignorant negroes. 1t costs each member
one collar and tifty-tivc cents to take oll
the degrees, and one dollar and fifty
cents OF that amount is forwarded to
Hickory, n. G. Several packages of
money have been sent from Simpson
vile, Greenvillc county, and Woodruff,
0Partanburg county, to Hickory, N. c..
have secured somo OF tho literature
OF the "Co-operativc Workers Of Amcri-
ca" issued ''by order OF the executive
board, I'll. f. Hoover, president; w. Il.
MILAN, vlce-prcsidcnt; John T. Ross.
general secretary; G. l.. Hawn, treasur-
cr: ). y. Bolch, general auditor; Martin
Nolder, general committee agent" I'm
der cover of small pamphlet, signed as
ABOVE indicated, l CLEAN what purports
to DE the principles and objects Of the
organization.
"lt is the proper object of government
TO make laws that will secure the great
est good to the greatest number, on the
basis OF absolute justice, with an aim to.
ward universal liberty.
'for many years our government has
been run to the advantage of q few, fol
the benefit Of privileged class-the
n OF III
the useful people, have hard burdens
hard to bear"
The objects of the organization are
declared to be:
"To elevate and dignity labor; to Sc
cure to the laborer just share of the
products of his toll; to instruct him in a
knowledge of his rights and his wrongs.
and his duty to his country and his fcl-
low-man; to use all rational means to
better his social, moral and financial con-
dition."
10 accomplish these objects they de-
mand:0
"The establishment of bureaus of
labor statistics; the abrogation of laws
that do not bear equally upon CAPITAL
and labor; the adoption of measures
providing for the health and safety Of
tn ose engaged in mining, &c.; the en-
actmcnt of laws to compel corporations
to pay their employees weekly in lawful
money; the enactment of laws providing
for arbitration between employer and
employees; the enactment of laws to
prohibit the hiring out of convict labor
and to work cOnvicts on the public
roads; that the importation of foreign
convict labor be prohibited; that the
poll tax be repealed; the establishment
OF free cooperative school system; the
abolition of child labor in mines, work
shops and factories"
They demand of Congress: "That the
public lands, the heritage of the people.
be reserved for actual settlers, &c.; the
establishment Of national monetary
system; that graduated income tax be
LEVIED SO that the greater the income the
higher the rate of taxation; the enact
ment of graduated forfeiture Act to be
LEVIED on the estates of the rich ut their
death; that the government shall organ
lzo financial exchanges, safe deposits,
&c.; that the government construct DOS
tai telegraph or telephone system, &c.
that United States Senators be c,ncted
by the people,; that tho Govern. c1lt c.
tnlIsh and maintain free ballot in
every State Of the Union; a radical re.
ductlon III the fees, salaries and per
qulsite8 of government officials is de-
manded; that tho hours of labor be re.
duccd."
Then they say:
1--WE are opposed to war, and consider
strikes as dangerous to society, hurtful
to the participants and contrary to the
interest of good government"
They promise cooperation with the
knights Of Labor and all similar organi-
cations.
Colonel Traynham's Report.
After stating that, in obedience to the
order of the Governor, he visited Cedar
CtroVo on tho 18th instant and inter
viewed several prominent mon in regard
to the matter, Colonel Traynham says:
"Ihcrc is no doubt as to the existence
oi nn organization among the negroes in
that county. The object of it I could
not ascertain with oertainty. The ne
groo8 hold their meetings late at night,
say from II to daylight. No person is
admitted to them except members or
parties seeking to become mombers.
While the object Of the organization is